One Final Push Towards Healing From USB Bullshit
“There are far too many silent sufferers. Not because they don't yearn to reach out, but because they've tried and found no one who cares.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
I'm doing what might very well be my final attempt at shooting fleas during an eclipse. I'm seriously wondering if no one cares about what we've gone through. Only way to find out is to contact a lawyer. I did, just now.
In summary:
In February, we began searching for a single-story home. Both my husband and I are disabled. We needed to move in before his knee replacement surgery. We found a house that fit our needs. We signed the contract on 20 April 2022. We were told by Union Savings Bank that we could close as early as mid-May. We were looking at an USDA loan.
Every week I was told that we were approved but they needed x, y, and z.
"Have faith. They just want to dot the i's and cross the t's. Don't worry. You'll be approved. You are approved. You need to send in more paperwork. You'll hear back by the end of the week."
I scrambled to get more paperwork on a daily or weekly basis because the "underwriters" demanded it. One week, the "underwriters" wanted my husband's truck paid off before they would finalize the loan. We were happy to comply. It was around $2500. Then the bank turned around and said the "underwriters" said we didn't have enough money in our bank account. What? The bank's lending agents and cohorts said the loan would close if we put $2500 back into our account.
I explained that we would have that amount back once my husband got his monthly VA disability payment. That wasn't good enough. They wanted it "NOW". They told me that I could get a family member to give it to me. That wouldn't work for us. Could we do a loan from a family member, they asked. Then they said to make it look like a gift. This was around 28 June. We were desperate to get into the house before Jeff's surgery in July.
I was extremely uncomfortable borrowing money from my mother. I was even more uncomfortable pretending that a loan was actually a gift. If I submitted it as a gift, wouldn't I be lying? This is a USDA loan, so I would be lying directly to the government. If I was caught in that lie, would the government strip away Jeff's VA benefits and VA healthcare? I was reassured by the bank that it was alright. The "underwriters" wouldn't know.
My mother agreed to loan the money. We drove out to Clearwater Credit Union in East Liverpool, OH. My mother handed me a check. I deposited it. I sent the transaction receipt to Union Savings. This wasn't good enough. They wanted to see it actually deposited into my account. That made sense. I sent proof. Then they wanted to know if the check cleared my mother's bank. I told them it did. They told me to get a copy of her account showing the money had been removed. Wells Fargo told us that my mother's bank account has nothing to do with the loan process as she is not the one under contact to purchase the house. I agreed with them.
By this time, my mother was livid with me. The seller's agent and sellers were ticked off. They would only do one more addendum. But we would close by August 1, according to the bank. So Jeff went ahead with the knee surgery.
The surgery was on 15 July. I found out on 20 July that we didn't qualify for the loan. I had to scramble for accommodations for Jeff.
I found out that we didn't qualify for the loan from the seller's agent. They sent a copy to her via email. My copy did not arrive until the following week, and it came in the mail.
After months of reassurances, I was told that the USDA couldn't pre/approve our loan because our credit rating was too low and because we own another home. Our score was lowered because USB demanded the truck be paid off early and they kept hitting my credit report. We do not own a house. As I told USB months ago, we are my mother's powers of attorney so we are listed on her mortgage, and we are staying in this house because we had nowhere else to go after Jeff's surgery.
Surely banks know the requirements for a USDA loan and would point out that these requirements are not met - that we wouldn't be hopping through hoops, compromising our morals by committing fraud, stressing, lying to "underwriters" for three months - before any paperwork was submitted to pre-qualify for that loan? How many other people are they doing this to? How many times has USB lied to the government?
I can't help people handle those last two questions. What I want to know is if I can seek damages for what they put us through.
The stress brutalized me those last few weeks before we were denied. I went two weeks unable to keep food down. Two ER visits for fluids. I've lost over 30 pounds, and doctors were concerned about the vomiting and diarrhea, so they scheduled me for a colonoscopy. Nothing much there. It was just stress-related.
Jeff came close to doing his recovery in a VA Pittsburgh rehab where he could potentially be exposed to COVID. The VA let him come home to recover once we told them we would be in our new home or at my mother's by 1 August. Jeff was forced to stay downstairs in a cot and use a bedside commode - without any privacy from my mother. I had to go up and down two flights of stairs once he was healed enough to go upstairs.
I still have not received back my earnest money or any reimbursement from USB. They will not respond to texts or emails.
I saved copies of all the texts and email that went between me, USB, and the real estate agent. I kept a journal of this hell via my blog. I have medical records concerning the stress I had no choice but to endure, and Jeff's surgery. I am still grieving the loss of that home. These people should be reported to the FTC but I don't know how. More importantly, I want my $600 back as well as compensation for what I endured physically and mentally due to their negligence and demands.
My anxiety attacks have only become worse over time - they screwed our credit over so royally that we can't even hope to find a new house that meets our disability needs. I'm tired of taking clonazepam every damn day. I'm tired of crying, and worrying, and feeling like there just isn't hope left.
I'm so sorry for this text wall. I don't know how to make this brief. I'm sorry.
I don't think anyone from the law firm will respond.
I tried my hardest during 2022. Done riding the depression elevator to the panic attack room. I called my mental health team. We're swapping the hydroxypam for clonazopam.
UPDATE:
Friday, September 23. No reply yet.